Going for brokerage
BetDEX makes a play for the crypto high roller
Brokerage service is added to the existing betting exchange model.
Loose change: The ramifications from BC.GAME’s travails.
Ripple takes on stablecoin heavyweights
At size
Ahead of the game: BetDEX’s CEO Varun Sudhakar said the company’s launch of a brokerage service, which will handle bets worth $50k-plus in a wide range of cryptocurrencies, has happened ahead of schedule due to customer demand.
“We always knew we’d open up a brokerage at some point, but the proactive customer interest here put this on the roadmap much sooner than expected,” he told The Token Word.
The deets: The new service will cover betting across all the major US sports and will see all deposits and withdrawals performed in crypto, with BetDEX supporting Bitcoin, Ether, Solana and USDT.
I see you: Asked whether facilitating transactions at size was more problematic when it comes to issues around transparency and AML guidelines, Sudhakar said that with all the bets taking place on chain, it made the ecosystem “more transparent” than with fiat transactions.
“We utilise third-party blockchain analytic providers to ensure that user funds are not coming from illicit sources,” he added.
“Keep in mind all transactions on the blockchain are available for anyone to analyze.”
Black and blue: The brokerage launch comes at a time when the debate over the burgeoning black market in the UK has coincided with the apparent collapse of crypto casino and sportsbook BC.GAME. Sudhakar said the prevalence of crypto operators working outside of traditional regulatory structures is due to pressure from consumers.
Consumers are “driven” offshore by a lack of products “traditionally available to them,” he said.
He added that part of the reason crypto gambling exists is because current regulations “often treat crypto as a nefarious method of transaction.”
This comes “without understanding the benefits that something like this can provide in terms of cheaper fees, instant settlement and increased transparency.”
The gauntlet: BetDEX hopes to gain a further benefit from having the brokerage offering feeding into the wider exchange ecosystem. “This should help us quite a bit, showcasing our ability to match larger wagers at great prices can only help attract more users.”
It might even pose more of a challenge to the traditional betting exchanges, and in particular Betfair.
“It’s a source of a relatively new type of liquidity/flow, which can’t/won’t transact on Betfair,” he pointed out.
“These customers also aren’t required to provide five years of bank statements to an unnamed representative at an operator or pay 20%+ premium charges/taxes on their winnings.”
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Loose change
BC.GAME: Despite having foregone its UK license, BC.GAME appeared as the shirt sponsor for Leicester City in last night’s Premier League game against West Ham and was also featured in the pitchside hoardings.
As detailed in Compliance+More this week, the very existence of the company appears tenuous right now with reports suggesting it will be stripped of its Curaçao license later this week.
Where this leaves the shadowy crypto-based operator is up for debate.
What we’re reading: Justin Sun, a ripe banana and, well, lots of riper allegations. In Slate.
More ripples
On golden pond: Ripple is on a tear. The blockchain company’s flagship token XRP has roared back to life following Donald Trump’s election victory, while its new stablecoin RLUSD gears to make a splash in a $200bn market.
The dollar-backed RLUSD is officially on track for a launch later today, December 4, in New York and is pitched to businesses as a less risky alternative for international payments that uses blockchain technology.
Other US-issued stablecoins approved by the New York Department of Financial Services include Circle’s USDC, Paxos’ PAX and Gemini’s GUSD.
Ripple is expected to join them with a trust charter; a strict regulatory approval that allows firms to offer financial products without having to acquire a full banking license.
Eventually, Ripple hopes to integrate both RLUSD and XRP into its cross-border payments solution.
Gary’s in trouble: The legal storm clouds that have gathered over XRP since 2020 appear to be dispersing, in part thanks to Trump’s campaign promises of making the US more crypto-friendly.
XRP has been at the center of one of crypto’s most high-profile legal battles following allegations by the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it is an unregistered security.
At its lowest, the token’s market cap plunged $16bn as it fought the SEC in court.
Since Trump’s win it has jumped back into the list of the top five cryptocurrencies, and with the departure of crypto’s bête noire, SEC head honcho Gary Gensler in the coming weeks, talk has shifted to speculation the case may be iced entirely.
Events calendar
Jan 7-8: MetaVSummit 2025, Dubai
Jan 21-24: We’re all Gonna Make it: 2025, Miami
Feb 3: Digital Assets Forum, London
Feb 11-13: ITEXPO, Fort Lauderdale
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